MANSFIELD — U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis visited flashlight manufacturer Princeton Tec's assembly plant this morning and praised the company's efforts to "insource," or bring outsourced jobs back to the country.

"This is exactly what the president wants," Solis said after touring the facility. "He would like to see jobs sent back here."

Princeton Tec outsourced 50 percent of its manufacturing jobs seven years ago, but company founder Bill Stephens said executives were not happy with the results.

"We thought it would be less expensive, and all our competitors were doing it, but then we realized we had very little control over operations," Stephens said. "You never got the product you wanted in time."

Princeton Tec vice president David Cozzone said the company began phasing out its overseas operations five years ago.

The company now produces 90 percent of its products at three N.J. factories and has doubled its domestic workforce as a result, he said.

The federal departments of labor and commerce plan to invest $40 million in a national "insourcing" initiative, Solis said.

"The President wants to roll out an initiative to jump-start manufacturing abilities," Solis said. "I see this as something that has been talked about ... and now the President is saying, 'We can't wait anymore.'"